%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1294169187051360500%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.%%[[quoteright:350:[[Disney/{{Tarzan}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/raised_by_wolves.jpg]]]][[caption-width-right:350:"[[Music/PhilCollins Two worlds]], [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome one family]]."]]

->'''Red Puckett:''' For a reporter, you sure have a strange way of doing your job.\\'''The Wolf:''' What can I say? I was raised by wolves.-->-- ''WesternAnimation/{{Hoodwinked}}!''

A character who lost their human parents and was raised by animals.

Animals in fiction range from the [[FunnyAnimal almost human]] to the bestial, but since MostWritersAreHuman, animals tend to think, feel and talk like we do. Thus a literal MamaBear might be an ordinary parent -- or a wildly offbeat role model. This trope ranges from a purely cosmetic touch of exoticism to a comedy trope to a full-blown ''otherness'' trope that drives drama.

A character raised by animals will seem unusual to ordinary folk. They may speak crudely or just strangely. They are a FunnyForeigner -- but without the risk of offending an audience member. In more extreme cases they have NoSocialSkills, and it is common for them to be NotGoodWithPeople.

Expect to see at least some discrimination. His adoptive siblings might get over him being funny-lookin', human society might get over them scratching their head with their foot, but he may ultimately be seen as a HalfHumanHybrid.

It can be an extreme case of the longing for the GoodOldWays -- a vision of the good life before any of the corrupting influences of civilization, the NobleSavage being InHarmonyWithNature. They may be a NatureHero or a JunglePrincess. Sometimes they pick up powers from their family. LamarckWasRight: MysteriousAnimalSenses abound and having birds for family teaches flight.

Expect a character of this type to have a NameFromAnotherSpecies as a result of being raised by animals.

In their original setting expect to see {{Loin Cloth}}s, pelts, {{Fur Bikini}}s and WildHair. The character sometimes DoesNotLikeShoes. A quick route to {{Fanservice}} is having NoNudityTaboo.

Even if things are not that bad, expect a tougher, rougher, childhood. But the UpbringingMakesTheHero, so these early trials pay off later. At a minimum, someone who was Raised by Wolves will be a bit wild; impulsive, aggressive or just more in touch with base human drives.

Can be a case of NurtureOverNature, if the character chooses the nurturing of the wild over the nature of humanity - or NatureOverNurture, choosing the nature of humanity over the nurture of civilized society, depending on the writer's viewpoint.

For the most realistic take where lack of human contact makes kids feral and mute, see WildChild. For social awkwardness in general, see NoSocialSkills.

A subtrope of InterspeciesAdoption, which doesn't require that the parents be "uncivilized beasts". Contrast to RaisedByHumans.

----!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Advertising]]* In one of the "Behold the Power of Cheese" ads, three guys at a party eye the last piece of cheese on a platter. The first guy starts to take it and his mother appears on his shoulder telling him to let someone else have it. The second guy starts to take it when his mother appears saying "Don't be greedy, you weren't rased by wolves!". The third guy looks at the cheese and a howling wolf appears. After the third guy takes the cheese, the two Mothers shout "Animal!" at him. Then as a tag the third guy sticks his face in a punchbowl to lap up a drink.* An infamous Quizno's ad featured two men sitting on a bench with subway sandwiches. The man with the Quizno's sub says "Untoasted? What, were you raised by wolves?" Cue the second guy [[note]]Hey, it's [[Series/TheBigBangTheory Sheldon]]![[/note]] having a flashback of himself, still adult and in a three-piece suit, nursing from a mother wolf with her pups. He then responds back in the present [[BluntYes "Why yes. Yes, I was."]] Enough people were put off by this ad that it was taken off the air, then put back on with the nursing scene cut out.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]* Yamato from ''Anime/BattleBDaman'' was raised by cats. Not tigers or anything, normal stray cats. Later he is adopted by a relative -- possibly his birth mother.* ''Anime/SpiderRiders'': Aqune was raised by Insectors. Insectors act like human beings, so she does.* Mana from ''Manga/MermaidSaga'', having been raised by [[ImAHumanitarian cannibalistic]] [[OurMermaidsAreDifferent mermaids]], suffers quite a bit of this.* San from ''Anime/PrincessMononoke'' was literally raised by wolves after her birth parents encountered a huge wolf in the forest when she was very young and [[ParentalAbandonment abandoned her]] in an attempt to get away safely. Indeed, it's implied that her parents literally threw her at the wolves to get away. The wolves were offended enough by this behavior to take care of her, instead. Of course, it helps somewhat that these wolves are ''gods'' who are perfectly capable of speech.* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''** In the [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} anime episode]] "The Kangaskhan Kid", set in the Kanto Safari Zone, we meet Tommy, a little boy who was raised by kangaroo-oid Kangaskhan. He's been in the park since he was accidentally dropped from a helicopter by his birth parents into the park while an infant.** ''Manga/PokemonDiamondAndPearlAdventure''- the main character was raised by wild Pokémon. The kid was being looked after by Professor Rowan when the good professor decided that the boy should go live with the wild Pokémon because he had the beginnings of communication with them! [[spoiler:Hareta's dad is actually alive. He's just on the run right now... although he really DID leave Hareta with Professor Rowan for no good reason the first time. ParentalAbandonment...]]* Rebecca from ''Anime/HareGuu'' was raised by pokute -- small, weird, sort-of-rabbit-like animals.* Natsu of ''Manga/FairyTail'' was raised by the Fire Dragon Igneel. While Igneel taught him things like Fire Dragon Slayer magic and speech, he clearly wasn't able to teach Natsu typical human social customs. Then Igneel vanished when Natsu was still little. Natsu was then taken in and raised by the mages of Fairy Tail, and all of ''them'' are to some degree crazy ([[CrazyAwesome awesome]]).** This is actually a rather common occurrence among Dragonslayers: [[ExtraOreDinary Gajeel]], [[BlowYouAway Wendy]], [[LightEmUp Sting]], and [[CastingAShadow Rogue]] were all raised from a young age by dragons before events forced them apart. The former two by a similar manner to Natsu, and the latter because they [[SelfMadeOrphan killed]] them, though they [[DeathSeeker had]] [[MercyKill reasons]]. [[spoiler: [[FakingTheDead Except not really]].]]* ''Manga/DragonBall'': Son Goku accidentally killed his adoptive grandpa while under the influence of the moon as a small child. For an uncertain number of years, he lived on his own in the wilderness, his only interactions 'killing animals' and occasionally 'not killing animals'. Then he killed Bulma's car.** His ''major'' RaisedByWolves thing is not being able to tell the difference between boys and girls, and considering 'patpat'ing [[RefugeInAudacity the groin area]] to be a sane method of differentiation. ''[[AccidentalMarriage This is how he wound up engaged to ChiChi]]''.*** His mistaking Bulma's breasts for an extra butt was a tasteless gag that actually worked really well.* Ikuto/Keenan from ''Anime/DigimonSavers'' was raised by a Frigimon for most of his life after being taken away from his parents via a Digital Gate. He eventually came to terms that he was human after spending some time in the real world, but continued to have the brave heart of a Digimon (at one time getting Ninjamon recruits for his new friends in the Kurata arc, cementing his HeelFaceTurn). For some reason he uses HulkSpeak despite the fact that nearly every Digimon can speak fluent English/Japanese (his Digimon partner/brother even had a British accent).* One character in ''Hikkatsu'' not only was raised by pigeons, but learned martial arts from them as well.* A futuristic, and more intentional, approach to the trope was the development of the Trinity siblings from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'', although this was never explained in the actual anime itself. The side materials explained that they were created by Dr. Clay Lihichyte, who used Ribbons Almark's blood samples. All three spent most of their life either in stasis or under the close supervision of lab technicians who were teaching them how to be Gundam Meisters. Because their role was to be part of Ribbons's master plan, however, they were not taught morality, not given full training, and were given antiquated, impostor Gundam. That way, once their task (unbeknownst to themselves) was completed, they were to be terminated. This is a valid explanation in pointing out why Michael is AxCrazy and Nena is a PsychopathicManchild.* In ''Manga/AnimalLand'', Tarouza and other human children were each raised by different animals.* The dark side of life in ''Manga/{{Toriko}}'' is that a lot of people easily die in [[DeathWorld world where even some of the weakest animals can only subdued by professional hunters]]. And '''that's''' in human world, let alone gourmet world. As such, [[ConvenientlyAnOrphan there's almost no named character with living parents]]. But some people are exceptional that some beast actually raised them:** Played with [[BigBad Midora]] backstory, who in his infancy was [[spoiler: given to a carnivorous pigs as a food]]. He tamed them and suckle at a female beast to survive.** Played straight by [[spoiler: Knocking Master Jirou]]. He is raised by a battle wolf, [[spoiler: and not your average battle wolf, but ''THE'' Wolf King Guinness, one of the 8 Kings]]. Well, that explains his AnimalMotif. * Ran Komatsuzaki from ''Akai Kiba Blue Sonnet'' was raised by wolves until she was five, yet she has a normal personality and skills. She was simply a normal school girl in her primary personality with a secondary personality who had a more aggressive personality and phenomenal cosmic power for reasons that had nothing to do with her wolf parents.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Asian Animation]]* In a literal take on the trope, Byrne of ''Animation/{{Dreamkix}}'' is the adopted son of a wolf couple who seem to switch between being civilized and being feral. It definitely explains parts of his personality.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]* ''ComicBook/SpiderWoman''. The original version of the Creator/MarvelComics Jessica Drew had her raised among the [[MadScientist High Evolutionary's]] menagerie of PettingZooPeople and {{Beast M|an}}en. In fact, she was one of them herself, being a hyper-evolved spider, although that was retconned away very quickly. Meaning that she had no idea how to interact with humans when she finally entered the outside world, and tended to creep out everyone she met, although that was at least as much due to her pheromone powers. The recent {{Retcon}} version of her origin [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks eliminates this, though]].* ''Black Condor'' - Golden Age superhero Black Condor was raised by Condors who taught him to fly, speak English, build a death ray and enough about United States Law and Politics that he could easily impersonate the dead senator who he happened to be physically identical to. Black Condor first appeared in Crack Comics #1, which is appropriate, [[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs since that is apparently what his creators were on when they thought up his origin]].* ''Comicbook/{{Aquaman}}'' - The current backstory of Aquaman himself is that he was raised by dolphins until he was twelve years old, and the entire time earnestly believed he was one of them.* Catman of the ComicBook/SecretSix.** The Golden Age Cat-Man (who is unrelated to DC's Catman but wears an oddly similar costume) was raised by tigers. Like the Black Condor above, his upbringing somehow gave him superpowers -- he could see in the dark, leap like a cat, scale any wall, and had nine lives.* In the GreenLantern books, Sinestro Corpsman Karu-Sil was raised by native predators of her homeworld after her parents were murdered by her neighbors for their food. Karu-Sil grew to love and care for them deeply -- to the point that she ''mutilated her own face'' so she would look more like them. They were eventually killed by a Green Lantern who thought she needed to be "rescued" from them. Once she was recruited into the Sinestro Corps and obtained a power ring, she used it to create energy construct duplicates of her pack and treats them as if they really were her lost family.* In "The Hoax" in ''Weird Western Tales'' #18, ComicBook/JonahHex gets mixed up with a pair of conmen who are attempting to pass off one of them as the lost heir to a fortune who has been raised by coyotes.* ''ComicBook/BlackMoonChronicles'': Pilou was raised by a female dragon who took him to her cave for food, but decided to save him for her offspring when he happened to burst from his egg at that exact moment. The young dragon and the young elf then bonded and the three became a family.* ''ComicBook/{{Arawn}}'': Downplayed. Arawn was initially left out in the freezing cold to die by his mother Siahm, but he was nursed back to health by a she-wolf who become a surrogate mother to him. However, he spend his youth living with both his human and wolf relatives.[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comic Strips]]* ''{{ComicStrip/Garfield}}'': in 1990, Jon briefly ended up dating a woman named Kimmy, who revealed she was raised by wolves. Although she appeared to be a normal woman most of the time, her upbringing by wild animals still showed in that she loved to howl at the moon, could be extremely loud and obnoxious, and ate with her bare hands. She was one of the very few woman who actually liked Jon.--> '''Jon:''' So, when were you brought back to civilization?\\'''Kimmy:''' (after scarfing down her plate's contents) [[RuleOfFunny Last Friday.]]* The parody strip ''ComicStrip/CaptainBiceps'''s version of Tarzan was raised by just about every animal there is: apes (hence his strength), eagles (hence his piercing sight), lions (hence his MightyRoar), parrots ([[RealMenWearPink hence his dress sense]]).[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fanfiction]]* In ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6690487/1/ Growing Up Kneazle]]'' Harry discovers his innate Animagus ability when he's two years old and spends the rest of his pre-Hogwarts childhood as part of Arabella Figg's resident family of Kneazles. His more notable quirks before becoming at least partly civilized are running around naked and peeing to mark his territory.* ''{{Fanfic/Anthropology}}'': The reason why [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Lyra]] is so obsessed with humans is because [[spoiler:Lyra herself is a human: Princess Celestia turned her into a pony when she was very young. Lyra was then raised by the foal-less unicorn couple who found her.]]* In ''FanFic/{{Symbiosis}}'' Ash is raised by a retired battling Pokemon, a Weedle living in the Viridian Forest named Poison Lance, who took him in to follow Mareep's LastRequest. Mareep's LastRequest was for Poison Lance to protect Ash from the people who killed his family. Poison Lance kept Ash from becoming feral by having him interact with humans in secret.* In ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'', Iris is raised by a family of dragon-types after her biological parents [[OffingTheOffspring abandon her in the woods to die]]. Her adopted family teaches her how to interact with humans so she can buy medicine when needed.* Tarzan's ''{{Discworld}}'' analogue, Tarquin of the Apes, appears in Creator/AAPessimal's tale ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12321109/23/Gap-Year-Adventures Gap Year Adventures]]'', where it has amused Lord Vetinari to make him Ankh-Morpork's Consul to a small kingdom in Central Howondaland. Apparently he shows the right sort of face of Ankh-Morpork to the world. In practice, his Jane does all the thinking and talking. As a contemporary of Sybil Ramkin at the Quirm Academy, she is capable of ''anything''. [[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]* Eggs from ''WesternAnimation/TheBoxtrolls'', is a Cheesebridge orphan raised since infancy by the eponymous Boxtrolls, to the point he considers himself one of them... up until he meets Winnie, that is.* Kristoff in ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'' was raised by rock trolls, and yet, he still has a better grasp of human society than sheltered Anna.* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hoodwinked}}'' quotes this trope with a VisualPun at the end of the Wolf's story:-->'''Red Puckett:''' For a reporter, you sure have a strange way of doing your job.-->'''The Wolf:''' What can I say? I was raised by wolves. ''[Cuts to the Wolf's family portrait]''* According to the Disney direct-to-video film ''Atlantis: Milo's Return'' (sequel to ''Disney/AtlantisTheLostEmpire''), the team's geologist [[MoleMen Moliere]] actually got his mole-like characteristics as a result of him being raised by naked mole rats. YouDoNotWantToKnow indeed.* ''WesternAnimation/{{Storks}}'': Attempted when Junior and Tulip run into a pack of wolves that want to raise the baby as one of their own. Technically, Tulip counts too, as she was raised by the storks.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]* In ''Film/BatmanReturns'', the classic (human) supervillain the Penguin was given a ReTool of actually having been raised by penguins. He grew up in a circus, though.* ''Film/WalkLikeAMan'', in which Howie Mandel played the heir to a fortune who was raised by dogs.* In ''Film/TheAdventuresOfSharkBoyAndLavaGirl'', Shark Boy was raised by sharks, causing him to not only be very aggressive, but evolve shark-like superpowers! He has no problem speaking English or interacting with humans, except for his heightened aggression.* ''Film/JungleBoy'': The main character was raised by an elephant and a monkey. Latter, another character gains the ability [[ItMakesSenseInContext by a giant]] [[SpecialEffectFailure badly animated]] [[ItMakesSenseInContext cobra statue.]]* Serbian movie [[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3059656/ ''Nicije Dete'']] (''No One's Child'') is BasedOnATrueStory and it plays this trope straight. The story begins in Yugoslavia a few years prior to the conflict. Near Travnik (Bosnia, in central Yugoslavia), hunters find a child raised by wolves. Lacking the means to treat him, local authorities send the child to an orphanage in Belgrade (Yugoslavian and Serbian capitol city) where, under a careful tutorage, he slowly learns how to socialize. But the war is looming and everything abruptly changes.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]* Hayy from Ibn Tufail's 12th-century Arabic novel ''Hayy ibn Yaqzan'' (also known as ''Philosophus Autodidactus'', where he is raised by a gazelle on a DesertedIsland.* Mowgli from Creator/RudyardKipling's ''Literature/JungleBooks''. After trying out human civilization for a while, Mowgli returned to the pack that raised him (only to go back to humanity eventually).* ''Literature/{{Tarzan}}'' famously was raised by apes. He goes on to be quite successfully socialized and a member of human society. It helps that the "apes" in question were a fictional missing-link species that had a spoken language, and that he found his human parents' house at the age of ten and ''taught himself to read'' over a few years. Tarzan's time in civilisation rarely makes it out of the original Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs novels: it is typically omitted by the numerous works inspired by the novels.* Camp Jupiter of RickRiordan's ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'', specifically by the wolf-goddess Lupa who raised Romulus and Remus.* The narrator of Karen Hesse's ''The Music of Dolphins'' was the only survivor of an airplane crash in the Caribbean as a very young child, and was taken in by a pod of dolphins. She's reasonably healthy when she's found by (aside from minor considerations, such as having ''barnacles'' all over her) and, unlike other {{Wild Child}}ren in the center that's taking care of her, she can connect with people and understand language, because [[FriendlyPlayfulDolphin dolphins are that awesome]]. However, the [[HumansAreBastards betrayals and confused feelings from the scientists studying her]] turn her away from them, and eventually she is allowed to return to the sea and her dolphin family.* Big Alice from Staanley Kiesel' young adult novel ''The War Between the Pitiful Teachers and the Splendid Kids'' was raised by hyenas. Her parents were psychologists, and when they found her again, [[ParentalAbandonment they abandoned her]] to the hyenas again after an aborted attempt at rehabilitating her.* In Jane Lindskold's ''Literature/FirekeeperSaga'' novels, the protagonist was raised by wolves, albeit intelligent ones. A rather unusual example in that she isn't naive at all in many matters; her adjustment problems are mostly shown by the facts that she never manages to fully master elementary grammar, writing, or table manners. Or hierarchies based on blood.** Firekeeper actually ''can'' speak properly - in the first book she does so more than once. She just omits all the words she sees as unnecessary, because the wolf language doesn't have words like "the", "a", "and", etc.* The appropriately named Hunter in the ''Literature/{{Gone}}'' series. [[spoiler:After accidentally killing a friend with his mutant powers he is brutally hit in the head by Zil, leaving him partially brain damaged. Because of this he slurs his words a lot and doesn't understand some things]]. He is trained by the nearby mutant coyotes can speak somewhat. They teach him how to hunt: he becomes the primary food bringer for Perdido Beach along with Quinn and his fishermen.* In ''Morality For Beautiful Girls'', by Alexander [=McCall=] Smith, a boy is found in the desert who cannot talk. He is sent to the orphan farm run by a friend of the protagonist, who asks her to investigate. Based on the fact that the boy acts more like an animal and hasn't [[WildChild grasped the concept]] of language, plus the fact that he smelt of lion when he was found, they conclude that he was raised by lions, but they decide to keep him at the farm because he has shown progress in learning how to talk.* Shana, the half-elf protagonist of ''Literature/TheElvenbane'', was raised by dragons.* Most medieval versions of [[TheFool Parzifal/Percival]] characterized him merely as a bumpkin initially, whose inborn talents eventually get training, and then the excess of politeness and the FisherKing thing. But occasionally he gets scaled all the way to RaisedByWolves.** The Gerald Morris version has him appear as part of the finale of an early book, as a naked super-innocent who trained by wrestling lions and who loses to Gawain and decides he wants to be a knight. Later on he gets his own novel, which seems to owe its content mostly to Wolfram von Eschenbach's but omits the whole Herzeloyde bereavement back story and Feirfiz, along with...the Christianity focus, pretty much. Which is pretty impressive in an adaption of a ''Grail quest story''.* ''Literature/TortallUniverse''** Daine of ''Literature/TheImmortals'' was literally raised by wolves, at least for a little while. Her family was killed by bandits, and her dormant magical powers of being able to speak to animals came through. She joined a renegade pack, tracked down the bandits on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge and nearly lost her human self permanently.** Nawat in ''Literature/DaughterOfTheLioness'' is an unusual case. He ''is'' a crow (they can change into human form if they want) and all of the relevant fallout occurs--he suggests placating an upset girl with a random bit of shiny stone, eats bugs (and offers to feed Aly bugs too), and suggests he and Aly have children to increase their ranks.* Implied with Wolf Boy in ''Literature/SeptimusHeap''.* In a comic variation, Stanley from Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Discworld/GoingPostal'' was raised by ''peas''. This left him with a fanatically neat disposition ("Very meticulous, peas are") and a tendency to bend slightly towards the sun when standing up straight.* One chapter in ''[[ScaryStoriesToTellInTheDark More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark]]'' titled "The Wolf Girl" tells of a WildChild who was raised by wolves.* In ''Literature/TheEchoriumSequence'', Shaiala was raised by centaurs.* Kingsley Ward from ''Literature/TheExtraordinaires''. In-universe he is the child raised by wolves on whom Creator/RudyardKipling based Mowgli in ''Literature/TheJungleBook''.* In Creator/PoulAnderson's ''Literature/ThreeHeartsAndThreeLions'', Alianora was found and raised by dwarves. While generally socially ept, she avoids human habitations; she doesn't like living among them.* Parodied in ''Literature/HowToBeASuperhero'', where the section on being a "Jungle Lord" includes a list of orphans who didn't make it due to a poor choice of adoptive animal: Tomar of the Molluscs (starved to death) Mikki of the Dolphins (drowned), Sven of the Lemmings (jumped off a cliff) and Eric of the Man-Eating Bengal Tigers (guess).* The main character in Pat Murphy's Wild Angel was raised by wolves.* In Creator/WenSpencer's Literature/UkiahOregon books, the titular protagonist was found running wild with a pack of wolves near the town of Ukiah, Oregon, hence his name. * Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen has Setoc, a war orphan who was adopted by wolves.* In William Makepeace Thackeray's novel ''The Rose and the Ring'', Princess Rosalba is raised (for a time) by lions. * Torak in ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAncientDarkness'' is a partial example, as he was left to suckle from a she-wolf as a baby after his mother died, giving him the ability to understand wolf speech, but his father came back for him after a while. * At least two examples occur in the novels of Creator/HRiderHaggard:** Galazi the Wolf in ''Nada the Lily'' claims to have been raised by jackals , and everything we see in the novel bears out this claim. Creator/RudyardKipling acknowledged Galazi as one his inspirations for creating Mowgli in ''Literature/TheJungleBook''** Hendrika the Baboon Woman from ''[[Literature/AllanQuatermain Allan's Wife]]'' is, as might be guessed from her name, a woman who was raised by baboons. She is a servant to Stella's family, but the feral is never far from the surface in her, and is some respects she can be regarded as a WildChild.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]* ''Lucan'' of the TV series of the same name, was literally raised by wolves. His name is a double entendre referring to his wolf family and to the difficulty he had learning English despite being a fast learner. "Lucan" is a mispronunciation of the words "You can."* Jan Kandou from ''Series/JukenSentaiGekiranger'', raised by pandas and tigers. He calls himself a "tiger boy" and demonstrates incredible strength, such as having a tree fall on him with no effect. It takes him a few episodes to master the concept of things like doors. His defining trait, though, is that, while he can speak proper Japanese, he colours it with made-up babytalk words such as "nikiniki (happy) and "zowazowa" (danger).* There was an InvertedTrope in ''{{Series/Dinosaurs}}'' that had a dinosaur that was abandoned by her parents and raised by the cavemen. She acts as a translator between dinosaurs and cavemen.* Parodied in ''Series/TheMightyBoosh''. Vince was raised in the forests by [[RoxyMusic Bryan Ferry]], and leopards and snakes used to babysit him.* In one episode of ''Series/MadeInCanada'', the actor who plays Damacles (the main character of an in-universe equivalent of ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'' and/or ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'') comes up with a backstory for his character which includes being born of a wolf and raised by bears.* The Huntsman from ''Series/OnceUponATime'' was a creature of the forest, taken in by wolves as a small child. As a result, he believed HumansAreBastards and wanted very little to do with them.* Subverted by ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' with the character of Anya. For years, the characters thought that her odd manerisms, literal-mindedness and tendency to say whatever she was thinking were the result of being an ex-demon adjusting to being human again after 1000 years. Then a flashback showed us that she had been like that originally.* Tiger from ''Series/{{Sinbad}}'' was raised by, well, tigers.* ''Series/LivAndMaddie'': To improve her chances of getting a role in "Space Werewolves", Liv enlists help from a girl who was literally raised by wolves.* In ''Series/{{Earth2}}'', Mary, who was the child of exiled human biologists. Her parents were killed by Terrian renegades, and she was raised as a Terrian, with the abilities they have to Dream and move about the rock. When she sides with the humans over the Terrians in a dispute, she is exiled by them, and as she doesn't fit in with either the humans or Terrians, resolves to live on her own.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]* The Falling in Reverse song "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Raised By Wolves]]".* Mentioned as one of the reasons [[BadassBoast why the singer is a badass]] in [[Music/{{Wasp}} W.A.S.P.'s]] "Mean Man".[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mythology and Legend]]* There are hints that Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh was based on an earlier story that just had Enkidu moving from living with animals to being seduced by a woman into becoming a city dwelling taxpayer.* There is an American legend about Pecos Bill, a cowboy who was raised by coyotes after he fell off a covered wagon as a baby.* Twin brothers Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome, were left to die in the wilds as infants. They were suckled by a wolf before being found and raised by a shepherd, making this minor version of this trope at least OlderThanFeudalism. Mind you "she-wolf" and "prostitute" are the same word in Latin -- the closest English counterpart would be "bitch", so the story probably had a double meaning that was LostInTranslation.* [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Atalanta]] was supposedly raised by a she-bear, even considering the other bears her brothers. This led to lots of confusion when she entered the 'real world'.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]* In a week long ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' storyline Jon fell in love with a woman in a rec center who had been raised by wolves, as it turns out she had only been in civilization for a week and she had tendencies like scratching her head with her foot, messily devouring her food, trying to bite off her foot when her shoe was too tight, and howling at the moon.** Garfield once met a cat (Ed) who was raised by squirrels. Before they met, Ed didn't know the meaning of "ground". And neither his "mother" did. Ed has the habit of storing birds for winter. When the tree branch where Ed and Garfield were sitting on fell, Ed had the first chance to walk "sideways". Odie was the first dog Ed ever met and Garfield explained to him cats were supposed to fear dogs albeit Garfield doesn't remember why.** [[http://www.garfield.com/comics/vault.html?yr=2013&addr=130721 Jon's cousin Earl after being accidentally left at a rest stop.]] He went missing for years and eventually sent a postcard claiming to "have acquired a taste for small game".* Cartoonstock.com has a number of single-panel cartoons on the subject, including one about the guy who was raised by a pack of wolves, and the cleaning lady who came in twice a month. That's right, in an ''apartment''.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]* In a certain ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'' adventure, the characters have to stand in as actors for a reality show, but since most Alpha Complex citizens have as much of an interesting personality as a dry toast (and less than a Happy Fun Meal), they get additional backgrounds they have to roleplay. One of the available ones is the wolfboy, who was raised by a vicious radioactive wolf until he was rescued by Alpha Complex forces. This role is somewhat difficult because with everyone living underground, no one has any idea what a wolf might be.* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' - Primarch Leman Russ was raised by [[CanisMajor tank-sized wolves]].** In Modern times (That is, the last years of the fourtieth millenium), Canis Wulfborn, the champion of Wolf Lord Harald Deathwolf, was also raised by wolves... And, like Russ, managed to make himself the alpha wolf by the time he was in his teens. And remember, this is ''before'' he had had any genetic augmentation* One of the [=NPCs=] from a ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' supplement is a caliban (curse-mutated human) born with the head of a tiger. He was abandoned in the forest of a [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Japanese-style]] domain, and found and raised by ''kami'' animal-spirits.* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'':** A ''Social'' trait called Beastkin has you pick an animal species (including bears, gorillas and of course wolves) for your character to be raised by, and allows said character to talk to the animals that raised you.** There is also an archetype (variation) of the Druid class available for humans called Feral Child, which, in addition to letting you talk to the animals that raised you, trades literacy and the ability to shapeshift for some ranger and barbarian abilities.* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' has [[http://magiccards.info/bng/en/135.html an enchantment card]] with this exact name. Not only does it grant benefits for being around wolves, it also puts two of them in play -- presumably the ones that raised the enchanted creature. The artwork depicts a leonin -- a [[CatFolk humanoid panther]] -- running on all fours alongside a pack of wolves.* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'' has the country of Tilea, which was founded in ages past when a pair of abandoned human twins were raised by a mutant two-headed leopard. [[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]* In ''VideoGame/LegendOfLegaia'', Noa is a girl who was raised by a wolf -- albeit an intelligent, talking one. This leads to some occasional embarrassments, such as her inviting a man to take a bath with her, and knocking out whoever appears to be a "bad guy", with no regard for legality.* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia'', Jay was raised by a ninja, and then hundreds of talking otters. He's an antisocial "information dealer".* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', the God General Arietta, a.k.a. "Arietta the Wild" was raised by ligers [[note]]a cross between lions and tigers[[/note]]. Her grudge against Luke and party begins after they kill her mother, the Liger Queen, in the Cheagle Woods.* Chauncey, the protagonist of the obscure sim game ''VideoGame/TheHorde'', was raised by a kind herd of wild cows.* [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite N]], the leader of Team Plasma]], was raised by Pokémon because [[spoiler:his father, Ghetsis, deliberately neglected him to condition N into a man who would hate humans.]]** WordOfGod says that Iris was raised in a forest by dragons. It is unknown how much human interaction she had, but if her anime counterpart is anything to go by, she's definitely [[IncrediblyLamePun wild]] and quite adapted to moving about the forest.* Gau from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' was thrown out of his house by his father at birth; the man went insane when his wife succumbed to DeathByChildbirth. He was raised by monsters on the Veldt, where all monsters come at one time or another. Despite this, he's actually a pleasant and friendly young man; when the party tries to reunite him with his father and the man rejects him, Gau's response is happiness that his father's still alive.* In ''VideoGame/SeikenDensetsu3'' Kevin explains that this is normal for beast men.* There is a challenge for ''VideoGame/TheSims2: Pets'' to have a toddler or child "raised" by pet animals (and one token elder grandparent or teenage sibling, since tots and kids can't pay bills or live alone without social services stepping in).* In ''VideoGame/ManaKhemia'', [[TheHero Vayne]] was raised by his talking cat named Sulphur. [[spoiler:It turns out later in the game that Vayne himself is a manufactured Mana, while Sulphur is just a mere black cat.]]* Grey Mann of ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' was kidnapped at birth by eagles, and then he was raised by those eagles. Then he ate the eagles.-->'''Saxton Hale:''' That is some preposterous horse@#$% if you ask me. But barely credible backstory aside, he '''means business.'''* Mirania of ''VideoGame/TheLastStory'' was raised by a Forest Guardian, a sub-deity-like manifestation of nature's power. [[CloudCuckooLander it left her a little off.]]* In ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankSizeMatters'' we learn that [[FakeUltimateHero Captain Qwark]] was given up for adoption and raised by monkeys.* Invoked and spoofed in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', when Alistair jokes that his terrible [[JabbaTableManners table manners]] and numerous [[ManChild bad habits]] are the result of having been raised by "[[RaisedByWolves a pack of dogs]], who were [[GodIsGood devout Andrastians]] and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking hated cheese!]]" He admits that the truth is actually boring in comparison, that he was brought up in Redcliffe by Arl Eamon, before being sent to [[LockedAwayInAMonastery a Chantry]] to begin Templar training.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novel]]

* In ''VisualNovel/HatofulBoyfriend'' sequel ''Holiday Star'', the human girl claims she was adopted by a pack of jackals in the wilderness. In the "Bad Boys Love" route of the original game, however, her parents are clearly mentioned, so she presumably wasn't raised solely by the jackals.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]* Emily Watson from ''Webcomic/{{Spacetrawler}}'' was raised by coyotes. She can function in human society just fine, but she prefers to live as a nomad in the desert. She also says that coyotes are the only creature she feels any kinship towards... which doesn't prevent her from killing and eating them.* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''** The [[AllTrollsAreDifferent Trolls]] of the planet Alternia. As part of a coming-of-age process, they must find a native monster to become their Lusus, or guardian as they grow up.** Jade Harley was raised by her {{reality warp|er}}ing dog Bec after her Grandfather was shot in a freak accident involving Jade nearly getting herself killed.* [[http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/20010506 Parodied]] in ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' when Torg suffers a nervous breakdown, disappears inside his own house and is "raised" by (rather sarcastic) cockroaches for a few days.* Parodied in [[http://www.amazingsuperpowers.com/2011/12/care-package/ this strip]] of ''Webcomic/AmazingSuperPowers''.* One Webcomic/HoverHead [[http://www.bookofpdr.com/hover-head-issue-three/ story]] features a man raised by gorillas who had been raised by wolves.* In ''Webcomic/{{Digger}}'', there are many wombat stories involving baby wombats being raised by moles.-->'''Digger:''' Do you humans have stories about babies being abandoned and raised by moles?-->'''Murai:''' [[GenreSavvy Wolves are more traditional for us.]]* [[http://www.collegehumor.com/article:1804338 Has its advantages]], according to Caldwell Tanner.* The protagonist of Vera Brosgol's "[[http://verabee.com/wolf/ What Were You Raised By Wolves]]", in another literal example.* In ''WebComic/SirensLament'', Ian the merman doesn't fully understand human customs when he first stays at Lyra's house, sleeping half-naked on her floor and sitting on her counter.* In ''Webcomic/TheBirdFeeder'' [[http://thebirdfeeder.com/comic/162 #162]], "Even more adoption," it's revealed that Tina, a hummingbird, was apparently raised by rabbits. [[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]* [[http://humon.deviantart.com/art/Kangaroo-Wife-148578041 There's]] a [[Website/DeviantART deviation]] about a girl raised by kangaroos, who went on to marry the Sniper from ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' (this is a joke based on one of [[https://wiki.teamfortress.com/w/images/8/87/Soldier_DominationSniper04.wav?t=20100625233022 the Soldier's domination lines]])* [[ComicBook/AnyasGhost Vera Brosgol's]] wordless comic ''[[http://verabee.com/wolf/ What Were You Raised By Wolves?]]''.* Brilliantly parodied in Website/TheOnion with, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPJtg_-PtDQ "Girl Raised From Birth By Wolf Blitzer Taken Into Protective Custody"]]. The girl in question is a half-human, half-Wolf Blitzer who always wears pressed suits and slicked-back hair, talks in a stilted news-anchor voice, and is calmed by the use of a lint roller.* Little One in ''WebVideo/TalesFromMyDDCampaign'' was raised by his dragon mother, as his human father disappeared before he was born.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' plays with this trope.** Pud'n:--> '''Billy:''' Hey Pud'n, what're you doing outside?\\'''Pud'n:''' Oh, we live outside outside. I was raised by wolves. *gestures towards a pair of wolves sitting in front of a randomly placed TV* \\'''Father Wolf''': Hey. *waves to Billy*** Another Grim Adventures example: according to Mandy's father, when Mandy was born, a pack of wolves came by to try and raise her as their own. He sometimes regrets turning them down.* Why does Ezekiel from ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' turn feral during World Tour? While he was in the hold, he was homeschooled by the rats. It's possible to assume if he were to be homeschooled by his parents again, he might start speaking again.* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/BrandyAndMrWhiskers'' featured a wild dog named Wolfie who [[HulkSpeak shared the same speech problem as]] [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Grimlock]]. It turns out, he was raised by a monkey who had the same speech problem who was raised by a black jaguar who had the same problem... Which is explained when it turns out the jaguar was, erm, "raised" by a coconut tree. That is, coconuts fell onto the jaguar's head.* In ''Film/AceVentura: Pet Detective'', one of the recurring villains was the Griffin, who was at one point or another in his childhood raised by virtually every animal known to man.* Doctor Doofenshmirtz, the MadScientist from ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', has had a HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood. According to him, at one point, his parents disowned him, so there was a phase in his life where he was raised by ocelots.** In a later episode, he uses this fact to join an otherwise animal-only spy organization. [[RuleOfFunny Apparently the ocelots formally adopted him, making Doofenshmirtz "legally an ocelot."]]* Creepila Creecher herself from ''WesternAnimation/GrowingUpCreepie'' was raised by insects.* In ''WesternAnimation/Hero108'', Wu Song, a dentist, found out that his long lost twin brother was raised by dogs and became the [[MightyWhitey Dog King]]. The Dog King usually runs around on all fours and wears a dog pelt.* The ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' episode "Memories of Boom Boom Mountain" reveals Finn was abandoned as a baby and adopted by Jake's parents, who are dogs. But it's okay, they're [[WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack post-apocalyptic talking dogs]].** Also [[ParodiedTrope parodied]]/PlayedForLaughs in an episode where [[TheRunaway a runaway]] Lumpy Space Princess gets adopted by a wolf pack. * Wild Smurf in ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'' who the DeliveryStork lost in the forest as an infant and was raised by squirrels.* In ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'', Heffer belongs to the Wolfe family, which is all wolves. The thing is though, he is a steer.** This is a subversion though: The Wolfe family are (despite their dining habits) sophisticated suburbanites. Heffer's lack of social skills is just because he is Heffer.* ''WesternAnimation/{{Squidbillies}}'' has Rusty raised by wolves while Early is in prison. We're treated to a montage of wolves doing things like teaching him to ride a bike or reading him a bedtime story... and then mauling him.* ''Film/PoliceAcademy: [[RecycledTheSeries the Animated Series]]'' had one episode featuring a young man literally raised by wolves. The heroes, being cops, had the duty of finding his parents. [[spoiler:Mission accomplished.]]* Not only are Franchise/{{Tarzan}} and his animated counterparts examples of this trope, but one of those counterparts once met an [[JunglePrincess Amazon Princess]] who was also raised by animals.* ''WesternAnimation/TheLifeAndAdventuresOfSantaClaus'' applies this trope to freakin' ''SantaClaus'' -- he's found as an abandoned baby and nursed and raised by a lioness, at least until a young wood nymph decides to adopt him.* Donnie from ''WesternAnimation/TheWildThornberrys'' was briefly taken in by a mother orangutan after his primatologist parents were killed by poachers. The orangutan later gave Donnie up so the Thornberrys would take him in.** One episode Donnie and Debbie encounter a young girl being raised by jaguars in the Amazon rain forest.* The Monarch from ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' was (very briefly) raised by [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext a flock of monarch butterflies]] after his parents died in a plane crash, hence his supervillain sobriquet.* In ''TheJungleBunchTheMovie'', Maurice the penguin was separated from the rest of his kind while he was an egg. His egg washed up on the shores of Africa, and was taken in by a tiger, who raised him as his own. As a result of his upbringing, Maurice believes himself to be a tiger. When he finally does meet other penguins, he is completely blind to the fact that he resembles them more then he does a tiger.* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/MyGymPartnersAMonkey'', the school welcomes a human girl who was raised by possums, and she acts as such. Subverted when she turns out she was faking it so she can get into the school and get closer to Adam (since she doesn't have a silly last name that can result in a clerical error and be transferred to an all-animal school).* Wat was raised by a pig in ''WesternAnimation/WatsPig''. He turned out surprisingly competent.* ''WesternAnimation/BooBoomTheLongWayHome'': Boo-Boom, a young boy separated from his parents during World War II, is looked after by five animals. Although they don't intend to raise him (in fact, they are actively looking for the boys' parents), they do protect him as if he were one of their own.* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'' episode "Let's Play Baby-Sitting" reveals that Mr. Cat was raised by a salmon (an ordinary one, not a FunnyAnimal like him) who saved him after his horribly abusive family tried to drown him.* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' parodied this trope in the ''Justice Friends'' segment "Ratman", where the titular character's origin involved being taken in by the rats that scared away his parents when he was old enough to live on his own.[[/folder]]

[[folder: Real Life]]* [[RealityIsUnrealistic Yes, this actually happens,]] one recent example being [[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/04/07/a-girl-was-found-living-among-monkeys-in-an-indian-forest-how-she-got-there-is-a-mystery/?utm_term=.c52691a9453a a girl in India raised by monkeys]]. As the linked article notes, such feral children usually come from unfortunate backgrounds, often being abandoned by their parents. Many other examples can be found on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_child this Other Wiki article]].[[/folder]]----